Bilawal Bhutto Zardari unintentionally created a hilarious moment while talking to the media in Karachi on Monday.
Replying to a question about the possibility of a Constitutional Court, he said, “We should think about that. Woh kehtay hain na, aap ungli daitay hain, woh poora….”. He then smilingly made a gesture that depicts length but could also be interpreted as an obnoxious one.
It was only after the room erupted into laughter that he realised his mistake. “No, in angraizi. I’m not talking about…” he laughingly said as more laughs rang across the press conference. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairperson then smilingly put his hand to his forehead.
He said that he was referring to the English saying, ‘If you give an inch, they will take a mile.’
Bilawal then started talking about Article 186 of the Constitution but broke off mid-sentence to say, “Taubah, jo memes bannain gay.” Members of the media again burst into laughter.
Expect a deluge of memes in the coming days on the slip of the tongue.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Sardar Saleem Haider has taken oath as the new Governor of Punjab on Friday at the Governor’s House.
Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC), administered the oath to newly appointed Governor.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Faisal Karim Kundi attended the swearing-in ceremony.
Last week, president Asif Ali Zardari gave approval for the appointment of Saleem Haider, Faisal Karim Kundi, and Jaffar Khan Mandokhail as governors of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Balochistan, respectively.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Sharjeel Inam Memon wrote on X that the Sindh government is going to start Peoples Bus Service in MirpurKhas district of Sindh very soon. He also praised chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in his post.
He wrote on X that “Inshallah from today Peoples Bus Service will start their operation in #Mirpurkhas. This is the vision of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and President Asif Ali Zardari. CM Murad Ali Shah is also focusing on spreading the service throughout the province. Many more coming soon.”
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has nominated former prime minister and party loyalist Yousaf Raza Gillani as its candidate for the slot of Senate Chairman on Thursday.
Jamil Soomro, political secretary of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, issued a notification on Thursday, putting to rest all speculation that the party will nominate another former Prime Minister, Anwaar Kakar, for the covered post.
Following an agreement between the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on certain positions, like the post of president, Senate chairman, and governorship of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were given to the PPP. However, the posts of Senate deputy chairman, National Assembly speaker, and governorship of Sindh and Balochistan were provided to PML-N.
The former prime minister has the support of a total 54 senators, including 24 from the PPP, 19 from PML-N, four from the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), three from the Awami National Party (ANP), three independents, and one from the National Party.
However, if he gets the support of three MQM-P and five JUI-F senators, this number will become 64, which means Yousaf Raza Gillani will be in a comfortable position to get elected to the seat of Senate Chairman.
On the other hand, the PTI has the support of 20 senators and one each from the BNP and PML-Q, taking the tally to 22.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah strongly criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for its attitude towards the coalition government in the centre.
“The attitude of the PPP will remain the same throughout the tenure of the government. Look at their reaction to the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) chairman [appointment] issue,” Sanaullah said while speaking on Geo News’ programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath.
“It is clear; they will have their own position on everything. An impression is coming from allies to have the same attitude. However, we will try to move forward,” he added.
His remarks came after the PPP strongly objected to the decision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to appoint Zafar Mahmood, a retired grade 22 federal government officer.
The PPP declared the appointment of Zafar Mahmood for a three-year tenure under the IRSA ordinance against the constitution.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has agreed to the appointment of Ishaq Dar as the finance minister, as per The News on Monday. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP are ready to form a coalition government in the centre after the February 8 polls nationwide.
The development comes in the backdrop of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto’s tirade during election campaign in the run-up to the February 8 polls, wherein he had time and again criticised Dar for mismanaging the economy during the PML-N-led Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government.
In January, Bilawal Bhutto told Geo News that his party will see “anyone but Dar” as the country’s finance minister because of the poor economic situation in Pakistan.
The PML-N leader refrained from responding to his comment and said, “He [Bilawal] is like my child. I don’t want to comment on what he said.”
“This is the same Bilawal who on the floor [of the parliament] a few months back used to say that for him I’m Dar uncle,” he added.
More than 11 days have passed since the general elections took place, yet the country is without a coherent government formation strategy.
From every side saying they will form the government to every side saying they will sit in opposition, the situation remains unclear, except for one fact: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is in the driving seat as the Kingmakers.
So what will the party do? Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari revealed on Sunday during a political rally in Thatta, that his party has rejected the power-sharing formula offered to them, but stressed that his father, Asif Ali Zardari, will be the PPP’s candidate for president. “I was told [by PML-N] that let us be the prime minister for three years, and then you can take the premiership for the remaining two years,” Bilawal revealed, adding that he said no to the offer. “I said I do not want to become a prime minister like this. If I become the prime minister, it will be after the people of Pakistan elect me.”
The PPP chairman also said, without mentioning any names, that his party will align with those who asked for their votes but will not take ministries.
The former foreign minister also stressed that his father will play a big role in reducing the political tension in the country.
According to The News, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP are set to hold their fifth meeting today to hash out a formula for the formation of the federal government.
On the other hand, PPP leader Sarfraz Bugti claimed on Sunday that his party will form the provincial government in Balochistan with the help of PML-N.
“The PML-N would be our ally in Balochistan [as it has] given us a clear signal to form our government [in the province],” Bugti said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.
As confusion around the formation of the government rages, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Faisal Karim Kundi has said that if his party had chosen to sit in opposition, the country would’ve gone towards another election.”The PPP will stay in Parliament for constructive criticism,” he stated.
While addressing a press conference in Islamabad today, Kundi said PPP will contest the seats of Senate Chairman and Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), adding that PPP will also help Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) form a government in the centre.
The politician also urged all political parties to work together for political stability in Pakistan.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that his party is not interested in being part of the government in the centre. He also said that the PPP didn’t get a mandate and that “I’m not a candidate for Prime Minister.”
The PPP Chairman said that PPP is not in a position to form a government at the centre, adding that PTI has said that it will not hold any talks with PPP, and PML-N is the only party that invited us to join the government at the centre.
“We have decided that we are not in a position to be a part of the federal government. The former foreign minister said that we will not take ministries into the federal government, but we will vote for PML-N’s candidate for prime minister.
He further said that we want the government formation to be completed soon and the country to come out of the crisis.
Google Trends offer an insight into the popularity and curiosity political leaders enjoy among the masses. As the elections are drawing near, we took a peak into the data Google Trends have recorded over the last 30 days.
The highest and ever-increasing line graph is Imran Khan’s. The highest peak was shown on January 30 with Khan hitting the record 100 score whereas his contemporaries, Nawaz stood on 15, Maryam Nawaz at eight, Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari at three, and Hamza Shehbaz being the lowest: less than one.
However, it is important to note that Imran’s progressively increasing arc starts dropping successively in the days after Jan 30.
On the other hand, except for Hamza Shehbaz, the other three is slowly on an upward trend.
Breakdown of regions
PTI founder and jailed leader Imran Khan is most popular all over Pakistan according to Google Trends.
Punjab
In Punjab, the most popular choices for Chief Ministership, Hamza Shehbaz, and Maryam Nawaz contrary to popular perception, are not being searched so much. After Khan winning with more than 69 percent of searches, Nawaz Sharif is at 17 percent while Maryam is at nine percent. It appears that people in Punjab are comparatively more interested in Bilawal than Hamza who has 1 percent searches from all over the province.
However, it is important to note that out of all the provinces, Punjab has shown more interest in PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif. Sindh has shown the most interest after Punjab, which is 11 percent, 10 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine percent in Balochistan, and seven percent in former FATA.
Sindh
After Imran Khan (69 percent) former Foreign Minister and Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is unsurprisingly most popular in Sindh with 13 percent of Google searches. Second in line is Punjab and third is Balochistan. After him is Nawaz (11 percent) followed by Maryam (7 percent).
Balochistan
Imran Khan leading the slot here with 84 percent followed by Nawaz (9 percent), Maryam (4 percent), and Biawal Bhutto (3 percent). Hamza does not invoke public curiosity even the slightest.
Gilgit Baltistan
Imran Khan has a 100 percent popularity rate in Gilgit Baltistan, where it seems no other party leader stands a chance, implying that there were minor searches of them in GB.
Former FATA
Interestingly, in the former federally administered tribal areas, only Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif were searched for, Khan at 93 per cent of searches and Nawaz at seven percent.
Though Google search and Google trends are not the ultimate parameter of a party leader’s popularity, they certainly are proof of what netizens are most interested in and the social media footing of a politician.
